3 concerning stats from the Jaguars’ loss to the Lions in Week 13

3. The Jaguars had 5 dropped passes vs. the Lions

Trevor Lawrence didn’t have an outstanding performance against Detroit but he wasn’t dreadful either. The fact that he suffered what was a painful injury to his lower leg before halftime and still managed to get back on the field speaks volumes about his toughness. The sophomore finished the game with a mundane 54.84 percent completion rate for 179 yards with one touchdown and no interception.

However, Lawrence’s final stat line would’ve looked better if he had gotten help from his supporting cast. Christian Kirk notwithstanding, most of the Jaguars’ skill-position players were a non-factor against Detroit. The Jags got off to a bad start, with running back Travis Etienne’s fumbling on the second play of the game and handing the Lions their first touchdown of the game.

Similarly, drops by Zay Jones (3), Evan Engram (1), and Jamal Agnew (1) stalled drives. All things considered, Jones was the worst of the bunch. His 36.2 Pro Football Focus overall grade was one of the worst among Jaguars players in Week 13. What’s worse is that the former East Carolina Pirate was coming off a game in which he set career highs in catches (11) and passing yards (14).

Jones has been dealing with a chest injury and Doug Pederson says that might’ve played a role in his less-than-stellar performance:

“Even with the nature of Zay’s injury last week, there were some times where he practiced but didn’t get some of the reps that he would normally get during the week”, Pederson said.

Ok, that makes sense but does that justify having a bad game? If Jones wasn’t a full-go, why didn’t he sit out the game? Simply, you can’t have that many drops and expect to find a rhythm on offense.